What Once Was
by AlchemicAngel19
Summary: What he learned made him a target and changed his life forever- so did the bullet that was fired into his chest. But it's not just his life that hung in the balance- his friends, his family were dragged into it as well...and it's not something that Maes can live with. To save their lives, he has to throw away his own. Full summary on profile, stupid character limit.
1. Prologue

_"Sheska, go home right now; put all those books back where you found them! And you're fired!"_

It was the only possible way to save her life. The moment the realization hit him, he knew something was seriously off. What he found was so horrifying, so sickening….Roy. He had to know; the Fuhrer had to know!

And then she arrived. The woman with the long black hair and that strange tattoo above her chest. Quick as a flash, her fingers shot out like spears and pain ripped through his shoulder. He was just as fast though- he drew one of his knives and got her point blank in the forehead- a similar fate many people that he'd faced in Ishval shared.

Blood seeped through his hand as he clutched his wound, dragging himself out of the library and down to the phones. Already he was woozy, the whole world was blurred, and yet he had his glasses on.

_"Here to brag about your daughter again, sir?" _

For once in his life, he didn't respond. Not to say that his darling little Elicia wasn't on his mind; oh, she was. Her very life was hanging in the balance with what he discovered. Her life, his beautiful Gracia's life- everyone was in danger….and so was he.

But when he picked up the phone, he stopped. The possibility of the phones being tapped was there. And yet…..what if the Fuhrer had something to do with this? It was unfathomable that he would have a part in this, but the theory was not farfetched either.

_"Never mind." _

It was hard to walk out of there (and ignore her desperate questions about the state he was in) - all he wanted to do was collapse. Blood coated the entirety of his hand, and it was taking every bit of his willpower to make his legs move.

The phonebooth was just outside of Central Command, but to him, it was like an eternity away. He arrived there, bracing himself against the phonebox- and yet they had the audacity to ask for his military code!

"_This is an emergency!" _

He reluctantly put it in anyway; talking to Roy was the priority here and nothing was going to stand in the way of that.

The cocking of a pistol behind him was unmistakable, and he stopped; unable to turn around, afraid of what he might find.

"_Lieutenant Colonel, I need you to hang up the phone now."_

The voice was easily recognizable; he had just spoken with her earlier that day. Why would Maria Ross of all people be coming after him? Unless…..he turned to stare her in the face, clutching the phone box to keep himself steady.

"_You look just like….but you're not…..who the hell are you, lady?"_

"_I'm Second Lieutenant Ross, sir. You've lost too much blood."_

"_Drop the act already. You're not Second Lieutenant Ross. She has a mole under her left eye!"_

To see this….thing put the mole in place on its face horrified him far more than anything in Ishval (or his nightmares) ever could. He turned away, phone still in his hand, legs trembling as he fought to continue to stand.

"_This is not happening...please tell me that I'm hallucinating or something!"_

"_You really are a smart man, Lieutenant Colonel. Did you ever think that'd be the cause of your death?"_

Dying? Not a chance; his family was waiting for him! He drew one of his knives, dropping one of his pictures on the ground by accident.

"_C'mon, have a heart, will ya...? I've got a wife and daughter waiting for me... So the last thing I'm gonna do... is die on them!"_

He whipped around, ready to strike- but he stopped suddenly, letting out a choked breath, his eyes going round. If turning and seeing the Ross imposter all but make her mole appear out of thin air was horrifying, seeing his beloved wife pointing the gun at him was earth-shattering.

"_You look surprised!"_

Gracia…he couldn't move…..he couldn't strike. His mind screamed at him to do something; that he knew it was the imposter still. But….he couldn't harm his beautiful wife…..

"_What the hell are you?!"_

One loud crack, one small flash of light, and he was slammed against the back of the phonebooth, slumping down. The phone dropped from his hand, and he felt the blood gushing out of his chest, soaking his uniform and running down his arm.

The whole world was becoming a blur around him- his eyesight tunneled, his ears were ringing. He didn't even hear the phone being hung up, or whatever that imposter may have said.

His eyes shut, as his breathing became shallower and fainter.

"_Will you come home early tonight Daddy?"_

"_I can try, but Daddy has a lot of work to do!"_

Fighting for his life was not on that list.


	2. Chapter 1

_Gracia!_

_Elicia!_

_Roy!_

_**Somebody get a doctor in here! He's seizing!**_

The Colonel watched in gut-wrenching horror as he backed up a little, watching his best friend thrash around on the bed uncontrollably; as if his body weren't his own. The phone call he'd gotten just hours before was one he still couldn't fully comprehend. He tried to tell himself that _they'd made a mistake; that it wasn't his friend; that it just had to be another man with black hair and glasses. _

But when the one on the other side- a young, newly-recruited private that had never seen a half-dead man before by the tone of his voice- told him that they'd found a blood-coated picture of him, and two girls with the same dusty blond hair and grass green eyes on the back…well, there really wasn't any denying it anymore, was there?

The nurses worked on his IVs, the doctors taking his vitals. All these wires coming out of his arms were supplying him with more medications and drug cocktails then Roy had ever seen, and Maes's glasses laid on the floor, broken from being thrown off and onto the floor by his seizure.

It was all too much for him. He could handle Ishval- all the people he killed, all the corpses, the burning buildings and the screams of agony from those that were dying- but seeing his best friend like this was beyond more then what he could stand.

He couldn't get out of the room quick enough, and when he did, he ran right into his Lieutenant; there waiting for him in the hall, without fail. Her demeanor seemed stoic and cold as usual, but her sherry eyes were mournful for him, for Maes, his grieving wife, and devastated young daughter.

"Sir….is everything okay?" She asked, knowing full well nothing was even close to being okay. Roy's onyx eyes met her own, and he only needed to give one slight shake of his head. "….No, Riza…." He whispered, having no energy or desire to be bound to formalities.

The blond-haired woman's demeanor went from her laced up soldier side to her softer, compassionate side. She put a hand on his shoulder- even through his uniform, he felt how strong but soft her grasp was on him. "…..I'm so sorry, Roy….." She mumbled, glancing at the floor.

The Colonel turned to her, his gaze trembling- and, in an act so unlike him- he pulled her into a hug, causing the Lieutenant to tense for a moment, though she returned the gesture in kind once she relaxed. "Roy?" She gasped, her burnt sienna eyes gazing to the ceiling as she grasped onto his arms, almost on her tip toes. _He hasn't hugged me since we were teenagers….._She thought wistfully to herself.

"Please be careful, Riza…..I don't want anything happening to you either….." He breathed, the scent of her freshly washed hair taking over his sense of smell, his arms snug around the small of her back. There was nothing else for her to say- they merely held onto each other for a moment, until the doctor came out into the hall- then their soldiers sides took back over at once.

"He's stable for now." The doctor stated, fixing his glasses, unsure what else to say to the two of them. Roy nodded, now just as stoic as Riza was. "Thank you. When will he be awake?"

"I'm not entirely sure, Colonel. But we will be checking up on him every hour." Then the doctor walked away, and the charcoal-haired man couldn't help but look in the window of Maes's room, seeing his still, lifeless body lying in the bed, unmoving and unresponsive.

"….Sir, should….should we head to work? There's nothing we can do for him right now…." Riza spoke softly, aware that her Colonel was in a stage of grief, but also a stage of rage. It was silent for a moment, then he nodded.

"Yes…..yes, let's go. But I want Havoc and Breda guarding Gracia and Elicia." He turned to her, a fire burning within his eyes. "Nobody gets within fifty feet of them without my authorization."

"Of course, sir." She nodded, squaring her shoulders, as the two headed out.

_(I do apologize; it's been ages since I've done anything with my account and my stories! Between school and my personal life with all its trials and tribulations, writing has been the last thing on my mind! That, and this story has been on my school laptop- and anyone who goes to school knows how it is: you get home for the weekend, and you don't think about anything school related for two days. XD Anyway, please enjoy this chapter- I will do more when I can!) _


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